pigeon

A dove by any other name would be as revered?

Yesterday’s Daily Word provided a link to a KRQE story about the City’s Council’s introduction of a bill aimed at cracking down on pigeon poop. The pigeon nuisance abatement ordinance would make feeding and keeping the birds a finable offense.

I have mixed feelings about this issue. Obviously there’s an overpopulation problem in Albuquerque, and I’ve seen people feeding the pigeons. Since moving into my Downtown house a year and a half ago, I’ve witnessed the level of neighborhood pigeon crap increase dramatically. At some point last year four birds took up residence in the rafters in the back of my house. I think the pigeons are cute, but the mess they make at my back door is filthy and disgusting. I can’t get too mad at them, though, and here’s why. Several years back NPR ran an interview with Andrew Blechman, author of Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World's Most Revered and Reviled Bird. Learn all about these interesting birds here.